1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of electronic banking solutions. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a system and method for delivering a retail banking multi-channel solution that unifies interactive electronic banking touch points to provide personalized financial services to customers and a common point of control for financial institutions.
2. Description of the Related Art
More than two-thirds of all transactions processed by financial institutions today no longer require customers to interact with a teller. Rather, a majority of customers are now conducting business with the electronic delivery systems provided by these financial institutions. Typical self-serving electronic delivery systems available through financial institutions today include automatic teller or transaction machines (ATM), self-service coin counters (SSCC), kiosks and various other online banking services provided via web-enabled interfaces.
These electronic delivery systems are well known in the art. ATMs, for example, are the most readably available and frequently used electronic delivery systems available in financial institutions today, enabling customers to easily and quickly carry out basic everyday financial transactions. Financial transactions that are commonly conducted through ATMs include the dispensing of cash in response to customer withdrawal requests, account balance inquiries, transfer of monetary funds between accounts or the acceptance of deposits into an open account. Yet, ATMs have evolved over time and are now configurable to provide more than simple financial services. Additional services that are becoming popular and more frequently provided through ATMs include, for example, the printing and/or dispensing of coupons, event tickets, vouchers, checks, food stamps and various other types of transactions typically provided in a teller-customer environment.
However, these conventional e-banking touch points continue to exist today as stand-alone systems, providing customers and financial institutions alike with relatively few control and presentation options. These stand-alone systems are deficient in that they limit the ability of financial institutions to provide a more personalized e-banking experience to customers, while at the same time providing a more unified means for regulating their systems through a common set of control consoles, without incurring the substantial costs associated with the upgrading of such legacy systems. In light of the many advantages that may be achieved by implementing a means for unifying all of a financial institution's e-banking touch points into a common point of control, there is currently no system or method in place for doing so.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an innovative system and method utilizing an added-value platform for unifying e-banking touch points and enabling a personalized customer experience.